Multi-objective optimal planning for designing relief delivery systems Gwo-Hshiung Tzeng a,c, * , Hsin-Jung Cheng c , Tsung Dow Huang b a Department of Business Administration, Kainan University, No. 1, Kainan Road, Luchu, Taoyuan County 338, Taiwan b Department of Information Management, Kainan University, No. 1, Kainan Road, Luchu, Taoyuan County 338, Taiwan c Institute of Management of Technology, and Institute of Traffic and Transportation, College of Management, National Chiao Tung University 1001, Ta-Hsuch Road, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan Received 20 December 2005; received in revised form 27 July 2006; accepted 28 October 2006 Abstract The fatal earthquake on September 21, 1999 caused significant damages to Taiwan, which made the national govern- ment focus on strengthening relief systems regarding natural disasters. Disaster prevention, protection, and reconstruction are the major areas of focus to reduce human suffering and damage from disasters. A key point is the ability to enhance the distribution of relief materials effectively. In this study, we construct a relief-distribution model using the multi-objective programming method for designing relief delivery systems in a real case. The model features three objectives: minimizing the total cost, minimizing the total travel time, and maximizing the minimal satisfaction during the planning period. The first two objectives pursue the efficiency goal, whereas the third pursue fairness – making best effort to ensure relief com- modity delivery to all demand points. Results of an empirical study are presented and suggestions are given for future research. Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Earthquake; Multi-objective programming; Natural disaster; Relief distribution; Relief systems 1. Introduction Although minor earthquakes occur nearly every day, the effects of a strong earthquake are devastating. The Shaanxi Earthquake, the deadliest earthquake in the history, killed 830,000 in rural China in 1556. Recent fatal earthquakes took place in Taiwan in September 1999, India in January 2001, Southeastern Iran in December 2003, Sumatra in December 2004, and Pakistan in October 2005. Earthquakes have been one of humankind’s major enemies in the battle against natural disasters. The United Nations, public and private sectors have established many disaster-prevention or disaster salvaging centers or programs. The difficulty 1366-5545/$ - see front matter Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.tre.2006.10.012 * Corresponding author. Fax: +886 3 3412430. E-mail address: ghtzeng@cc.nctu.edu.tw (G.-H. Tzeng). Transportation Research Part E 43 (2007) 673–686 www.elsevier.com/locate/tre